DIY Screen Printing with Mod Podge

DIY screen printing doesn't have to be expensive! Do it with Mod Podge – you won't believe how easy it is and how good it looks. Scroll down to see a video of the process in action . . . with two bonus techniques as well!

I finally did it! I tried DIY screen printing with Mod Podge. I've talked about this before, always wanted to do it, and I finally did. Let's not talk about the fact that I want to use wallpaper with Mod Podge too and haven't done it yet – no, let's not even go there.

I'm so pleased with the results of my project that I bring you a DIY screen printing tutorial. I'll start with something easy and then tell you about my shirt above.

Here's my first try, the snowflake tote:

Before I dive into the tutorial to show you how it's done, I wanted to go over a few commonly asked questions I've gotten about DIY screen printing with Mod Podge.

DIY Screen Print vs. DIY Silk Screen

Essentially the two techniques are the same. “Silk screen” is traditionally called that because silk is used in the process. The panel I used in this process is polyester, but you might be able to use silk. I was just looking for something with fine holes that seemed reasonable for a DIY silk screen or screen print and the panel I found worked well.

NO Emulsion, NO Sensitizer

The awesome thing about this tutorial is that you don't need any emulsion or any sensitizer. I love that you don't need any chemicals! You still get the crisp lines as well. It's pretty awesome.

Mass Production

You can do several t-shirts with this method – you can reuse the screen. You might have to touch up the Mod Podge in some places depending on how many times you used it/how thick you applied it. But if you are making shirts for a family vacation (for example), you'll be able to produce your t-shirts using one screen just fine. If you're planning on mass producing t-shirts, I'd go with a different method.

DIY Screen Printing with Mod Podge

To do screen printing yourself, you need to gather a few supplies. Here's what I pulled together.

I like to jump in, so you should to. Take your sheer curtain panel and fasten it into the embroidery hoop. Screw it closed and pull the curtain tight, tight, tight.

Now turn your hoop over and cut the excess curtain material around the frame. Put the extra curtain aside and then pull your screen taut again.

Now get as crafty as you want to! You're going to need an image, so either hand draw one or print something off of the computer. I wanted a simple snowflake, so I hand drew mine (I first marked off the hoop so I wouldn't do it too big or small). Notice it would have been easier for me to print something or use a ruler, but I like to make things as difficult as possible and do lots of erasing.

Go ahead and place your screen on the design you just drew (or printed). Trace directly onto the screen with a pencil. All the tutorials I've seen use a pencil, so that's what I used. Not sure what happens if you use a pen, but I really didn't want to mess this up so I didn't try and find out.

Yay, my favorite part! Using the brush, paint Mod Podge on your screen where you DON'T want the ink to go through. This is called the “resist” because it resists the ink coming through the screen.

I thought about it long and hard, and I decided to use Fabric Mod Podge. Because if it's washable, then it would be easy to wash the ink out (Mod Podge staying behind) and then use the screen again for multiple prints. I know, I know – I'm smart.

Let your Mod Podge screen dry for a few hours until it's completely clear. I did a few layers of Mod Podge because I was nervous about the ink getting through in some areas if I didn't do it well enough. Your host is also a neurotic screen printer.

This is the second fun part – place your screen down on the bag and paint! One important thing: place something between the layers of fabric, so that the ink doesn't bleed through. You never know. Be sure when you are painting through the screen to get the corners well. I did several layers of paint before I pulled up.

Pull the screen off and allow to dry. Check out my finished DIY screen printing project again! If you found you messed up in any areas, go back and touch up with the brush. Follow the directions on the packaging of your screen print ink to finish your project (wash or heat seal, etc.).

Once I did the bag I was more confident, so I created this mini snowflake screen in the same way that I did the large snowflake one for the bag.

I grabbed a gray t-shirt and mixed together some black and white screen printing ink, then followed the steps I listed above. You'll notice I did several shades on the t-shirt. Gray tonal makes me happy, so printed one snowflake, then added more white. Then did it again. And again. And one more time. Finished t-shirt!

To completely finish her off, I added some buttons, because you know I love them. Great thing is that the screen is reusable, you have tons of curtain material from your sheer panel to make more and now your friends and family all want you to make them a shirt. Are you ready to try DIY screen printing now?

Now that you've seen the tutorial, check out the process in action. Simply click “play” on the video below! You'll also get two bonus techniques with Mod Podge on fabric. You're going to love them – promise!

Comments

Wow, your prints turned out great! I have been wanting to try this forever too, do you know if you can squeegee the ink like you would with regular screen printing or is it best to just brush it on? I was thinking of trying to use an old credit card to push the ink through the screen.

Very Nice tutorial! I’ve been playing with the idea of screen printing for some time and I think you may have just solved a problem I was thinking through for a 12×12 challenge quilt. The think I like best about your tutorial is that I have everything but the curtain (easy to get) and the paint – but I know exactly where to buy it AND I have a coupon! Wahoo! It’s nice to know I don’t have to buy a fancy frame or a fancy rubber smoothing thingy. Thanks!

Tresa – Fabric Mod Podge doesn’t wash out, it’s washable. So it sticks around after you wash it, which is good if you want to rinse the screen out and use multiple colors!

To reuse the screen, simply run under warm water and the ink washes out. I ran my hand lightly over it – no need to scrub. If you do use the screen several times, best to touch up the Mod Podge as it will wear down over time.

OMG!! This is GREAT!!! I’ve been dying to try screenprinting, but if I buy one more large tool……I might find myself a swingin’ single again (hubby’s not too fond of all my crafting stuff taking over the office 🙂 Thanks!

You can also use panty hose, if you have any spare laying around or you can get some for like a quarter at WalMart (boo!!) Just take a leg and cut off the toe. Cut up the side and you have more than enough screen to print!

I totally love these, and more of the projects done with the cure-all Mod podge..i have a question though..we do not seem to have it in India..can you tell me if any other company is marketing Mod Podge in India, so that I and several other crafters here can lay our hands on it, too? It will turn in so many new possibilities for crafting, if available here….

This is awesome. I love screen printing, but have only been able to do one color. I am not very good at creating mutiple screens and over lapping the colors to make a complete picture. I could with this method. You can see through the Mod Podge to line things up. I am excited to try it!

This is a cool idea but I am wondering how this is beneficial to just making a stencil? I make stencils with flattened out cereal boxes and paint on the fabric paint using the stencil. Does doing it through a “screen” make it looks better somehow?

this is so cool! I wonder if you could put your design on a sheet of sticker paper, cut it out and stick it to the screen and then place the glue around that & peel the sticker off. I’m definitely going to have to try this out!

This is too cool…I have all of the stuff for it, as I was going to make party tees for one of my son’s b-days, but ran out of time/chickened out. You’ve inspired me to give it a whirl!!Thanks for sharing!Smiles!!

I JUST DISCOVERED YOUR BLOG AND I ALREADY LOVE IT!! I TOO LOVE MOD PODGE AND HAVE BEEN WANTING TO USE IT WITH WALLPAPER, I JUST HAVEN’T CAME UP WITH THE PERFECT PROJECT. NOW I WANT TO TRY THE TOTE AND T-SHIRT 🙂 THANKS FOR THE GREAT IDEA!!

Love, Love, LOVE this!! I have been waiting to try this and finally got some time to sit down and give it a shot. Booo hoo! I think i spent wayyy to much on my shower curtain because i had a ton of bubbles 🙁 guess i’ll have to find a new screen material and try again. Thanks so much for sharing this. Great tutorial!

Amy, this is excellent!! I have done printing with freezer paper before, but it only lasts a short time (one or two prints). Thank you for this great tutorial! I had to share it as my “Make it Monday” theme on my Etsy shop fan page. http://www.facebook.com/eljahb I invite you to stop by and also stop by my shop, Eljah*B. http://www.eljahb.etsy.com